Thursday, June 23, 2016

Muhammad Ali's uneven dealing with Jews--plenty of anti-semitism

Rabbi Yehuda Lave

Counterbalance Bad Traits

As soon as you become aware that you are feeling any discomfort over another person's good fortune, let it serve as a cue to you to behave in the opposite extreme and actively express great joy. This will help you overcome any negative tendencies.

Love Yehuda Lave

When we ask for advice, we are usually looking for an accomplice."

-- Saul Bellow

Muhammad Ali's uneven dealing with Jews--plently of anti-semitism

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali, who died  a couple of weeks ago at 74, railed against Jewish promoters and slammed Zionist control of the world, but he also attended his grandson's bar mitzvah and appealed to Muslim extremists to release Jewish journalist Daniel Pearl.

Ali's grandson became a bar mitzvah at a Philadelphia synagogue in 2012.

Jacob Wertheimer, the son of Khaliah Ali-Wertheimer and Spencer Wertheimer, was called to the Torah at the historic Congregation Rodeph Shalom in front of 150 people, including the former heavyweight champion.

Ali's daughter, who was raised Muslim, said at the time, "No one put any pressure on Jacob to believe one way or another. He chose this on his own because he felt a kinship with Judaism and Jewish culture," and that it "meant a lot to Jacob" that Ali was there.

Ali, who was raised a Baptist named Cassius Clay, converted to Islam in the 1960s and changed his name.

He was esteemed by several prominent Jewish figures, including the comedian-actor Billy Crystal, who imitated the boxer. Among his biggest supporters was sportscaster Howard Cosell, who was among the first to call the boxer by his conversion name and defended him when Ali was stripped of his title in the late 1960s for failing to enter the US Army because of his Muslim faith.

Ali called out Jewish promoters in 1970 when he returned to the ring after 3 1/2 years away because of the draft-evasion charges.

Asked by a New York Times reporter after the fight about a subsequent contest with heavyweight champion Joe Frazier, Ali replied: "To those who might want it, the fight will come. All those Jewish promoters — they'll see that it comes off." The reporter said the athlete smiled as he said it.
Boxing legend Muhammad Ali in 1966 (CC BY-SA Dutch National Archives via Wikimedia Commons)

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali in 1966 (CC BY-SA Dutch National Archives via Wikimedia Commons)

In 1985, Ali visited Israel in order to arrange for the freeing of some 700 Shiite Muslim prisoners in the Atlit detention camp.

Five years earlier, during a visit to India, Ali charged that Zionists "control" America and the world, according to an interview reported in a leading publication in India, the text of which was obtained by JTA.

In the biweekly India Today dated February 1-15, 1980, Ali spoke of Zionists when asked about the "militant revival" of Islam in Iran and the holding of "your countrymen hostage." Ali, saying that "those people in Iran are fanatics" and that "the other Muslims in the world have condemned their action," declared "religion ain't bad; it's people who are bad."

"You know the entire power structure is Zionist. They control America; they control the world," said Ali, who was in India earlier as a special emissary of then-president Jimmy Carter. "They are really against the Islam religion. So whenever a Muslim does something wrong, they blames the religion."

But in January 2002, when Daniel Pearl of The Wall Street Journal was kidnapped by Islamic extremists, Ali pleaded publicly for the Jewish journalist's release and life.

"I appeal to you to show Daniel Pearl compassion and kindness," Ali implored Pearl's abductors, who would behead the journalist in Pakistan after nine days of captivity, although his fate would not be known for another three weeks.

"Treat him as you would wish all Muslims to be treated by others," he entreated. "Daniel should not become another victim of the ongoing conflict. It is my most sincere prayer that Daniel Pearl be permitted to return safely to his family. May Allah have mercy on us all."

Ali attended the memorial service for Pearl in March 2002.

How nice to live Amsterdam where Teens sing about buring Jews

AMSTERDAM (JTA) — Dutch Chief Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs called on authorities to identify and punish high school pupils who during their graduation ceremony sang about burning Jews.

The incident happened last week during the graduation gala of the Elde College in the town of Schijndel, 70 miles southeast of Amsterdam, the Brabants Dagblad daily reported on Wednesday.

As they approached the party, several graduates sang: "Together we'll burn Jews, because Jews burn the best."

The phrase is part of a chant heard several times in recent years during soccer matches connected to the Amsterdam's Ajax football team, whose players and supporters are often dubbed "Jews" because of the historic Jewish presence in the city, which is sometimes colloquially called "Mokum" after the Yiddish word for "place." But the gala incident had nothing to do with soccer.

The student body and organizing committee of the Elde College gala expressed their sincere apologies for the incident, but Jacobs said the guilty parties "must be prosecuted for hate speech."

The frequency of anti-Semitic chants and other hate crimes "means Dutch Jews are less inclined to report hate crimes, when they occur around them all the time," Jacobs told JTA. His home in Amersfoort has been attacked five times in recent years, especially during periods of unrest in Israel.

Jacobs referenced the incident during his speech earlier this week in Vught, at a ceremony for Jewish Holocaust victims at a former Nazi internment camp. "Only six years ago, we were profoundly shocked when two young men screamed 'Heil Hitler' during a commemoration ceremony at Vught," he said. "But today, this wouldn't be so shocking anymore. It is happening all the time in the Netherlands, and we must face this change with honesty, and combat it with education and severe punishments for violators."

Approximately 100,000 people, or three-quarters of Dutch Jewry, were murdered in the Holocaust — the highest death rate in Nazi-occupied Western Europe.

Trump says all the right words in condemming the Tel Aviv attack

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump harshly condemned the recent bloody terror attack in Tel Aviv, citing the teachings of anti-Israel hatred rampant in Palestinian society as a driving force behind the violence.

By: The Algemeiner

"I condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the outrageous terrorist shootings that took the lives of at least four innocent civilians and wounded at least 20 others in Tel Aviv yesterday," Trump said in a statement on Thursday. "The Israeli security forces' investigation is ongoing, but some facts have already emerged — and they are grim."

On Wednesday, two Hamas-affiliated terrorists, dressed in black business suits, entered the popular Max Brenner chocolate bar/cafe at the Sarona Market shopping complex. After sitting down and ordering food, the terrorists — who it was later determined hail from the village of Yatta near Hebron — opened fire. Before being neutralized by security guards, they managed to kill four people — two men and two women — and wound many more.

Trump slammed Gaza-based Hamas for its celebration over the attacks and the terrorists themselves. "Just as fast as the condolences arrive from the civilized world is the praise arising out of the uncivilized one. Hamas praised the attack, calling the attackers 'heroes.' Reports out of Hebron indicate that residents of the terrorists' hometown lit up the night sky with celebratory fireworks," he stated, adding that it was "despicable" that one Palestinian "news organization" called the attacks a "Ramadan treat."

Trump said the world understands "all too well the unspeakable horror that terrorism unleashes." To address terrorism — "and address it we must!" — the real estate magnate called on the world to "recognize the parallel horror of the culture of religious hatred that permeates many Palestinian quarters. From schools that indoctrinate toddlers to grow up to kill Israelis to the daily menu of hate that spews forth from various 'news organizations,' change is long overdue in the Palestinian territories."

Affirmed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton stated support for Israel in fight against terror. (File/Youtube/Screenshot)

The presidential hopeful said he hopes to forge a "future where peace can take root and terror finds no refuge."

"The American people stand strong with the people of Israel, who have suffered far too long from terrorism. Israel's security is a matter of paramount importance to me and the American people," Trump said. "I express my deepest condolences to the families of the four Israelis who were murdered, as well as my wishes for a speedy recovery to the wounded."

Also on Thursday, presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton issued her own condemnation of the Tel Aviv attack, saying in a statement, "I condemn the heinous terrorist attack in Tel Aviv today. I send my deepest condolences to the families of those killed and I will continue to pray for the wounded."

"I stand in solidarity with the Israeli people in the face of these ongoing threats, and in unwavering support of the country's right to defend itself," she stated, adding, "Israel's security must remain non-negotiable.

Female muslim Professor Says It's OK To Rape Girls To Humiliate Them

Suad Saleh is a Muslim professor at Al-Azhar University who, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute, explains what is acceptable in the Islamic culture for committing female rape.

Saleh says, 'Those whom you own' (slaves) existed before Islam. It existed among all nations and countries, not just among pre-Islam Arabs. Anyone could trade in freeborn men and women. This is called the selling of freeborn people. It's like the selling of human organs and trafficking in freeborn humans today. But when Islam emerged, it put slavery into order, by limiting it to legitimate wars between Muslims and their enemies. If we fought Israel, which is plundering land, and is an aggressor against people and their faith…"

She continued, "Obviously, it is impossible that we will fight Israel, even though Surat Al-Isra in the Quran foretells this, and nothing is beyond the power

Because it's a classic. Enjoy 'Curly vs. The Clam' from "Dutiful But Dumb." ‪#‎ThreeStooges‬

https://www.facebook.com/thethreestooges/videos/10154459000412985/